Result at a glance
- Energy group’s total travel operating costs for the year ending December 2017 are down 24 per cent compared with 2016 – despite a 2 per cent increase in transactions
- Travellers embrace change and exceed the target of 90 per cent, with 95 per cent of eligible bookings now being made online
The challenge
As part of a company-wide cost-cutting exercise, npower’s travel team was asked to find 20-30 per cent savings. CWT and npower had a mature relationship, which included a well-functioning team of dedicated CWT agents embedded in the npower offices. To achieve the savings that npower was looking for, CWT advised removing the implant and driving adoption of the online booking tool (OBT) from 70 to 90 per cent. This meant changing the behaviour of 6,000 travellers across six operating companies and mandating online booking
The solution
The biggest cost saving was achieved by changing the operational structure – closing the implant at Swindon. Fortunately, on this occasion, it was possible to secure positions for all the individuals within the CWT network. More than half the team now work at home, continuing to serve the energy group’s travellers for complex fares that are not eligible for online booking – retaining their expertise and client knowledge. In addition, npower decided to change its GDS to Amadeus to align with its existing OBT, cytric, so the remaining ‘virtual’ agents were trained on the new system.
Online adoption was driven by the mandate and clear, consistent messaging. CWT shared information about best practice and other client successes, and CWT Programme Messenger was used throughout the campaign to deliver targeted notifications. CWT agents were empowered to pushback if travellers called them to make a booking that could be made online.
Even though the OBT hadn’t changed, a training video was created and refresher training offered to any travellers or bookers who needed them.
The results
RWE and Innogy group’s total travel operating costs for the year ending December 2017 were down 24 per cent compared with 2016. This was despite a 2 per cent increase in transaction volumes.
Of the eligible tickets, the group now has an online booking rate of 95 per cent.
As well as npower, the other divisions are also benefiting from cost-savings – not only from the reduction in operating costs but also from travellers making informed choices through the OBT.